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KC spring league will start March 16
The start of the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s spring basketball league has been pushed back to Monday, March 16 because not enough teams have signed up.
The four-man league will run for 10 weeks an conclude with a double-elimination tournament. Games will be played Monday through Thursday nights at the Felix Madrazo Gym.
Cost is $125 per team, and teams can sign up at the KC or by contacting Dan Boyle at (406) 491-2529.
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Smith scores 37 as Frenchtown forces Central boys to settle for fourth
HAMILTON — Hank Smith had himself a game Saturday afternoon,
The 6-foot-6 Frenchtown junior scored 25 of his 37 points in the first half as the Broncs beat Butte Central 72-42 in the third-place game of the Western A Divisional boys’ basketball tournament on the Dale Berry Court.
Smith and the Broncs outscored the Maroons 23-4 in the second quarter to take control of the game, and Frenchtown did not look back.
Trevor Smith added 13 points for the 17-5 Broncs, while Brayden Ricci and Henry Griffin each scored seven. Cooper Michaud scored four.
Sophomore Jaxon Hiatt hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points for the 17-5 Maroons, who punched their ticket next week’s Class A State tournament in Great Falls with an earlier win over Columbia Falls.
Joshua Sutton scored 10 points, while Ryan Peoples netted eight, Noah Sutton scored five points, and Henly Mansanti tossed in three. Cade Kelly, GG Fantini, Burkley Lakkala and Gunnar O’Brien also contributed for the Maroons.
The Maroons will open the State tournament at 10:30 a.m. Thursday against Billings Central at the Four Seasons Arena. (Bracket)
The trip to State will be BC’s 19th in 22 years under head coach Brodie Kelly, but it will be their first since 2024.
FRENCHTOWN (17-5) — Trevor Smith 5 1-1 13, Cooper Michaud 2 0-0 4, Konnor Klimpel 0 0-0 0, Hank Smith 16 2-3 37, Henry Griffin 2 2-2 7, Brayden Ricci 2 1-3 7, Brooks Day 0 0-0 0, Cole Pfahler 0 0-0 0, Jaxon Haynes 2 0-2 4, Cody Forthofer 0 0-0 0, Colin Finley 0 0-0 0, Hendrix Waln 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 6-11 72.
BUTTE CENTRAL (17-5) — Ryan Peoples 4 0-1 8, Cade Kelly 0 0-0 0, Joshua Sutton 4 0-0 10, GG Fantini 0 0-0 0, Jaxon Hiatt 6 0-0 15, Noah Sutton 2 0-0 5, Henly Mansanti 1 0-0 3, Burkley Lakkala 0 0-0 0, Gunnar O’Brien 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 0-1 41.
Frenchtown 18 23 12 19 — 72
Central 17 4 13 7 — 41
3-point goals — FT 6 (H. Smith 3, T. Smith 2, Griffin), BC 7 (Hiatt 3, J. Sutton 2, Mansanti, N. Sutton). Fouls — FT 5, BC 13. Fouled out — Hiatt. Technicals — none. -
Peoples, Maroons punch State ticket
Senior pours in 31 points in win
HAMILTON — Butte Central answered the wake-up call in a big way Saturday morning.
The Maroons beat Columbia Falls 74-62 in a loser-out game at the Hamilton Middle School, sending BC to the Class A State tournament next week in Great Falls.
First, BC will take on Frenchtown in the third-place game of the Western A Divisional tournament at 3 p.m. today. The Broncs beat Browning 65-54 in the other loser-out game on the Dale Berry Court.
BC and Frenchtown will join Dillon and Ronan, who will play in tonight’s title game, at the State tournament.
This marks the 19th time in 22 years under head coach Brodie Kelly that the Maroons will play in the Class A State tournament. They shared the title with Hardin in 2020 and won it outright in 2022.
Butte Central used a strong first and fourth quarter to keep its season alive until the final weekend of the 2025-26 season. Central opened the game with a 19-3 run to take the lead for good.
When Columbia Falls bounced back to cut the lead to two, at 51-49, after three quarters, Central opened the final frame with 16 straight points. Joshua Sutton started the run with a 3-pointer. Ryan Peoples followed with three long balls in that stretch.
Peoples, a senior, scored a career-high 31 points in the win. He scored 19 points in the second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
Peoples’ game also included four 3-pointers, helping the Maroons tie for the second-best 3-point shooting performance in team history. The 14 made 3-pointers by BC tied with the 2008 Maroons, who made 14 against Lewistown.
The record of 19 made threes was set by BC last season.
Sutton and Jaxon Hiatt each hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. Cade Kelly added a trey and scored nine points.
GG Fantini also scored two points for the Maroons, who got contributions from Noah Sutton, Burkley Lakkala and Henly Mansanti as the team improved to 17-4 on the season.
Bjorn Pedersen scored 20 points to pace the Wildcats, who close the season at 15-6. Jory Hill scored 12 points, while Easton Brooks netted 11 and Jett Pitts tossed in 10. Columbia Falls also got seven by Caleb Mee and two from Nico Young.
COLUMBIA FALLS (15-6) — Easton Brooks 4 3-5 11, Jett Pitts 4 0-0 10, Jory Hill 5 0-0 12, Bjorn Pedersen 8 0-2 20, Rhett Lindskoog 0 0-0 0, Nico Young 1 0-0 2, Joe West 0 0-0 0, Caleb Mee 3 0-1 7. Totals 25 3-8 62.
BUTTE CENTRAL (17-4) — Ryan Peoples 11 5-12 31, Cade Kelly 3 2-2 9, Joshua Sutton 6 0-2 16, GG Fantini 1 0-0 2, Jaxon Hiatt 5 2-2 16, Noah Sutton 0 0-0 0, Burkley Lakkala 0 0-0 0, Henly Mansanti 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 9-18 74.
C. Falls 11 17 21 13 — 62
Central 24 16 11 21 — 74
3-point goals — CF 9 (Pedersen 4, Hill 2, Pitts 2, Mee), BC 13 (Peoples 4, Hiatt 4, Sutton 4, Kely). Fouls — CF 20, BC 10. Fouled out — none. Technicals — none. -
Chiefs turn back Maroons in semis
BC plays Columbia Falls at 9 a.m.
HAMILTON — The Maroons will have to wait one more day for a chance to secure a spot in the Class A State tournament.
Ronan topped Butte Central 58-51 Friday night in the semifinals of the Western A Divisional boys’ basketball tournament on the Dale Berry Court.
Ronan, the No. 1 seed from the Northwestern A, advanced to face Dillon in Saturday’s 6 p.m. championship game. Dillon beat Frenchtown 55-41 in the earlier semifinal. (Bracket)
Central (16-4) heads to loser-out play, taking on Columbia Falls (15-5) in a 9 a.m. game at Hamilton Middle School. The winner clinches a berth in next week’s Class A State tournament in Great Falls. It also will take on the Browning or Frenchtown in the 3 p.m. third-place game.
The Indians and Broncs will play at 9 a.m. on the Dale Berry Court.
In the semifinal, Butte Central saw a comeback attempt fall short. The Maroons trailed by 14 points in the second half. They battled back to tie the game at 51, only to see the Chiefs (17-3) score the final seven points of the contest.
Matiya Nenemay scored 19 points to lead three Ronan players in double figures in the win. Kolby Finley scored 16, and Jhett McDonald poured in 10.
Sophomore Jaxon Hiatt sank three 3-pointers and scored 17 points to lead the Maroons.
Junior Joshua Sutton added 13 points to tie Maroon great Marc Murphy for seventh place on the BC boys’ all-time scoring list at 1,015. He entered the game tied at 1,002 with Tom Kenney, Murphy’s teammate on BC’s 1984 state championship team.
Ryan Peoples and Noah Sutton each scored six points, and Cade Kelly tossed in three. Henly Mansanti, GG Fantini and Burkley Lakkala each scored two.
Columbia Falls beat Polson 65-41 in a loser-out game earlier Friday. The Maroons and Wildcats played in the second game of the season, with BC winning 60-52 at the Frenchtown tipoff tournament.
The top four teams from the divisional tournament move on to Great Falls.
BUTTE CENTRAL (16-4) — Ryan Peoples 2 2-2 6, Cade Kelly 1 1-2 3, Joshua Sutton 3 5-6 13, GG Fantini 1 0-2 2, Jaxon Hiatt 7 0-0 17, Noah Sutton 2 2-2 6, Burkley Lakkala 1 0-2 2, Henly Mansanti 1 0-1 2. Totals 18 10-17 51.
RONAN (17-3) — Matiya Nenemay7 4-7 19, Sioux Qualtier 1 1-2 4, Jhett McDonald 4 0-0 10, Kolby Finley 6 3-6 16, Tryance Matt 2 3-6 7, Will Normandeau 1 0-2 2, Devon Big Medicine 0 0-0 0, Ben Running Rabbit 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-23 58.
Central 15 9 16 11 — 51
Ronan 17 16 12 13 — 58
3-point goals — BC 5 (Hiatt 3, J. Sutton 2), Ronan 5 (McDonald 2, Nenemay, Qualtier, Finley). Fouls — BC 17, Ronan 19. Fouled out — Qualtier. Technicals — none. -
Bulldog season ends with playoff loss
Thursday night did not belong to the Bulldogs.
Missoula Big Sky used an 18-0 run that spanned over the third and fourth quarters, and the Eagles left the Ross J. Richardson Gymnasium with a 53-38 Western AA playoff win over Butte High.
The win sends the Eagles to next week’s Class AA State tournament in Billings. The Bulldogs end their season with a home playoff for the second straight season.
Butte High struggled scoring throughout the night. But things finally looked to turn the Bulldogs’ way when senior Hudson Luedtke hit a contested 3-pointer to put Butte High up 32-31 with 2 minutes, 2 seconds left in the third quarter. The near capacity crowd was feeling good.
Butte High, however, did not score again until 7 minutes, 55 seconds of game clock ticked off.
That score came when sophomore Brady Hanson threw down a two-handed dunk with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter. In between the Butte buckets, the Eagles ran off 18 points, putting the game out of reach.
Another Bucket from Luedtke and a free throw from reserve senior Kaleb Cellie were the only other points the Bulldogs scored the rest of the way.
Freshman Jack McGowan scored 16 points to lead the Eagles, who head to Billings at 9-11 on the season. Sophomore Bryson Schultz added 11 points for the Eagles, who saw nine different players score.
Josiah Boone and Cormack Batt each scored six points for Big Sky, which got four from Blake Williams, three apiece from Eli Kasberg and Cole Silberstein, and two from Maron Fines and Brady Williams.
Luedtke scored 18 to pace the Bulldogs, who finish the season at 15-5. He closes his high school career as the Butte High boys’ all-time leading scorer with 1,658 points.
Hanson finished with eight points, and senior Rhett Arntson came off the bench to score seven. Seniors Josh Liston and Cayde Stajcar each scored two, and Celli had one.
Senior Mitch Verlanic started and contributed for the Bulldogs, while seniors Kendel Noctor, Jaxon Williamson, Ryan Hanson and James Pearston saw time off the bench.
Junior Raeder Grey also contributed for the Bulldogs, whose 15 regular-season wins were the most by a Butte High team since 2007.
MISSOULA BIG SKY (9-11) — Mason Ramos 0 0-2 0, Eli Kasberg 1 1-2 3, Cole Silberstein 1 0-0 3, Josiah Boone 3 0-0 6, Jack McGowan 6 4-4 16, Cormack Batt 2 1-2 6, Brady Williams 1 0-2 2, Blake Williams 0 4-4 4, Bryson Schultz 5 0-0 11. Totals 20 10-16 53.
BUTTE HIGH (15-5) — Cayde Stajcar 1 0-0 2, Hudson Luedtke 6 4-7 18, Mitch Verlanic 0 0-0 0, Josh Liston 1 0-2 2, Brady Hanson 4 0-1 8, Rhett Arntson 2 2-2 7, Kendel Noctor 0 0-0 0, Raeder Grey 0 0-0 0, Ryan Hanson 0 0-0 0, James Pearston 0 0-0 0, Jaxon Williamson 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Celli 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-14 38.
Big Sky 10 13 14 16 — 53
Butte 10 12 10 6 — 38
3-point goals — Big Sky 3 (McGowan, Silberstein, Schultz), Butte 3 (Luedtke 2, Arntson). Fouls — Big Sky 13, Butte 15. Fouled out — none. Technical — Blake Williams. -
Sutton scores his 1,000th point as Maroons roll in divisional opener
HAMILTON — Joshua Sutton reached a milestone, and the Butte Central Maroons made a statement Thursday afternoon.
Sutton, a junior guard, poured in 30 points to lead the way as the Maroons opened the Western A Divisional boys’ basketball tournament with a 73-54 win over Browning on the Dale Berry Court.
The win sends the Maroons to Friday’s 5 p.m. semifinal against Northwestern A top seed Ronan, which beat Hamilton 56-43. Dillon will play Frenchtown in the 3:30 p.m. semifinal. (Bracket)
With an inside hoop in the fourth quarter, Sutton became the ninth BC boy to score 1,000 points for his career. He is tied with Maroon great Tom Kenney for eighth place on BC’s all-time scoring list with 1,002 points. He is just behind Marc Murphy (1,015) and the late Ryan Murphy (1,035).
It was in the second quarter, though, when the Maroons really left their mark in this one. They opened the frame with a 21-4 run to take the lead for good. That broke open a 9-all tie, and BC went into halftime lead 38-24.
Senior Ryan Peoples hit three 3-pointers and scored 14 of his 19 points in the second quarter. He was 10 for 13 from the free throw line in the victory.
Cade Kelly added a pair of threes and scored nine points, and Noah Sutton came off the bench to toss in seven. GG Fantini scored five, and Jaxon Hiatt tossed in three.
Burkley Lakkala, Henly Mansanti and Gunnar O’Brien also contributed for the Maroons, who rolled their record to 16-3.
Reis Reevis scored 18 points to lead the Indians (11-8), who will head to loser-out play. Royce Madplume scored 11 points.
BROWNING (11-8) — Noah Butterfly 3 0-0 7, Roy Madplume 1 0-0 2, Shayde St. Goddard 0 0-0 0, Reis Reevis 8 0-2 18, Royce Madplume 4 3-4 11, Layton Wing 3 0-0 7, Jhett Cobell 0 1-2 1, Joshua Skunkcap 3 0-4 6, Eli Edwards 2 0-0 4, Jack Billedeaux 0 3-4 3, Ayden Warden 0-0 0-0 0, Jesse Denny 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 9-18 54.
BUTTE CENTRAL (16-3) — Ryan Peoples 3 10-13 19, Cde Kelly 3 1-2 9, Joshua Sutton 9 7-8 30, GG Fantini 2 0-0 5, Jaxon Hiatt 1 1-2 3, Noah Sutton 2 2-3 7, Burkley Lakkala 0 0-0 0, Henly Mansanti 0 0-0 0, Gunnar O’Brien 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 19-28 73.
Browning 9 15 14 16 — 54
Central 9 29 14 21 — 73
3-point goals — Browning 3 (Reevis 2, Wing), BC 12 ( J. Sutton 5, Peoples 3, Kelly 2, N. Sutton, Fantini). Fouls — Browning 27, BC 17. Fouled out — Skunkcap, Reevis, Royce Madplume. Technicals — none. -
Podcast No. 329: Nick Gevock
The great move “Johnny Dangerously” is an all-time classic.
One of my favorite lines in that 1984 Michael Keaton flick came from a newspaper headline shown in the move. The headline read: “Roman Moroni Deported To Sweden. Says He’s Not From There.”
That is what I thought when I saw a bunch of knuckleheads (and some bots) tell my friend Nick Gevock to “go back to California.” They told him that because Nick had the audacity to speak up and say that the public had the right to have a seat at the table when U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum came to town to meet with government, Montana Tech and mining officials at Montana Tech.
Nick is from Iowa, and he has long lived in the Treasure State. He worked as a reporter at The Bozeman Daily Chronicle and Montana Standard before changing courses to be a news maker instead of a news breaker.
The fact that Nick is an advocate for the Sierra Club is probably what set off some of those knuckleheads and bots. Nobody likes environmental groups. That is, until those groups are speaking out for you.
Nick had a good point. We need a seat at the table when important decisions are made. That is how democracy works. Nick was speaking out against the lack of transparency that can be dangerous.
He also was not speaking out against mining. He just said that in Butte we are well aware of what unchecked mining can do to a community.
No matter, dismissing someone’s opinion because you think they are from a state certain doesn’t make any sense. A good argument should never be afraid of opposition or some questions.
That is all Nick was offering.
So, yesterday I sat down with Nick for a fun conversation about what he does for the Sierra Club and why you should want him to at least be involved in the conversation.
Listen in to hear that he is not from California. Not that there’s anything wrong with being from California. Nick is from Eastern Iowa, and lives, works and plays in and around Butte.
Listen in to hear that Nick is concerned for sportsmen because that is what he is. Listen to hear how he cares about a clean environment, but is not the kind of radical that is out spiking trees.
Listen in to see that Nick is one of the good guys.
Today’s podcast is presented by Leskovar Honda, home of the non-commission sales staff that always has your back. It is also available on YouTube:
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Bulldogs meet Eagles in playoff
BC opens Western A Divisional; Johnston takes game to Dickinson
The season comes down to one game for the Butte High boys’ basketball team.
Missoula Big Sky will come to town for the second time in seven days to take on the Bulldogs. This time, it is do or die for both teams.
The Western AA playoff game tips off at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ross J. Richardson Memorial Gymnasium.
Butte High is looking for its third win over the Eagles, who come to town at 8-11. The Bulldogs won 62-54 Jan. 27 in Missoula. They completed the regular-season sweep by overcoming a double-digit deficit and knocking off Big Sky in a 66-63 overtime thriller last Friday at a rocking Ricardson Gym.
The winner or Round 3 moves on to play in next weeks’ Class AA State tournament in Billings. A Butte High win would mean the Bulldogs open the State tournament against Great Falls Russell at noon next Thursday.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season at 15-4 overall. That is the most regular-season wins for Butte High since 2007, when the Bulldogs advanced to the Class AA State championship game. At 10-4 in conference, the Bulldogs finished with the No. 3 seed from the Western AA.
The top teams automatically advanced to the State tournament, and the bottom two teams see their season come to an end. At 5-9 in conference, the Eagles finished with the No. 6 seed.
On Friday, the Eagles connected on nine 3-pointers as they jumped out quickly against the Bulldogs.
Junior Eli Kasberg and freshman Jack McGowan each scored 12 points to lead Big Sky in that game. Senior Cole Silberstein hit three 3-pointers and joined classmate Josiah Boone with nine points.
That is the kind of balance the Eagles have experienced all season. Only Boone averaged in double figures scoring on the season. McGown, Silberstein and Kasberg all averaged between 8 and 9 points per game.
Senior Hudson Luedtke scored 15 of his game-high 30 points after the third quarter to lead the Bulldogs in the win. He averaged 24.7 points per game during the regular season. He also led the Class AA in assists.
Classmate Josh Liston hit four 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the victory. Senior Rhett Arntson came off the bench for seven points, and senior Mitch Verlanic scored eight points. Brady Hanson, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, scored six.
Senior Cayde Stajcar, a defensive and rebounding force for the Bulldogs, scored two points in a game that saw seniors James Pearston, Kendel Noctor, Kaleb Celli and Ryan Hanson contribute.
Juniors Raeder Grey, Brady Walsh and Koda Schleeman and sophomores Koyde Kjersten and Noah Powers also saw varsity time for the Bulldogs this season.
Senior Jaxon Williamson played his first varsity game against the Eagles. He underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow in the fall. That injury will rob him of his senior baseball season, but he now has the chance to contribute for the Bulldogs in the basketball postseason.
Williamson served the team as a manager until he was medically cleared.
Butte High, which dropped a home playoff game to Missoula Sentinel last year, is looking to book a trip to the Class AA State tournament for the sixth time in seven years under head coach Matt Luedtke.
Indians up first for Maroons
Butte Central’s boys’ basketball team will open the Western A Divisional the same way they opened the season. They will play Browning. (Bracket)
The Maroons and Indians will meet at 3:30 p.m. Thursday on Hamilton’s Dale Berry Court. Central beat Browning 67-55 in a tipoff tournament Dec. 12 in Frenchtown.
Junior Joshua Sutton scored 25 points to lead three Maroons in double figures scoring in that win. Sophomore Jaxon Hiatt scored 18, and junior GG Fantini added 14.
Shayde St. Goddard scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Indians. Reis Reevis added 11 points, and Josh Skunkcap scored nine.
Skunkcap and Royce Madplume each average 10.1 points per game to lead the Indians. Royce Reevis averages 9.6 points, and St. Goddard, a 6-8 senior, adds 8.7 points and 9.9 rebounds.
Browning finished the regular season at 11-7 overall. The Indians secured the No. 3 seed from the Northwestern A with an 8-4 conference record. The Indians closed the season with convincing wins over Libby and Polson. Those wins, though, followed a three-game losing streak, with losses coming to Bigfork, Ronan and Columbia Falls.
The Maroons head to postseason play at 15-3 overall. At 8-2 in conference, they tied for first place in the Southwestern A with Dillon and Frenchtown. After a three-way tiebreaker, Frenchtown took the top seed. BC finished second, and Dillon takes the No. 3 seed.
Sutton averaged 19.8 points per game in the regular season. He connected on 45 percent of his 3-poitn attempts, sinking 55.
Ryan Peoples, a 6-2 senior, averages 11.9 points per game. He surged toward the end of the season as he adapted to a bit of a different role for the Maroons. He is relying less on 3-point shooting and taking the ball to the hoop more.
Hiatt, a 6-foot sophomore, adds 9.9 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds to the BC lineup, which is rounded out by juniors Cade Kelly and Fantini.
Junior Burkley Lakkala and freshmen Henly Mansanti are the first off the bench for the Maroons.
Juniors Gunnar O’Brien, Grady Button and Teghan Sparks also see time for the Maroons.
The Maroons are in the same side of the bracket as Ronan (15-3) and Hamilton (7-12), who play at 5 p.m. Thursday. The winners play in Friday’s 5 p.m. semifinal.
On the top half of the bracket, Columbia Falls (14-4) meets Dillon (12-6) at 9 a.m., and Frenchtown (14-4) battles Polson (10-10) at 10:30.
The top four teams move on. Central is looking to return to the dance after a rare year off.
In 22 seasons under head coach Brodie Kelly, the Maroons have qualified for the Class A State tournament 18 times.
Bulldog girls have week off
Butte High’s girls’ basketball team is getting ready to play in the Class AA State tournament.
This will mark the first consecutive trips to state for the Bulldog program since the late Jeff Arntson led to them to the dance eight straight seasons from 2006 through 2013.
At 12-7 overall and 10-4 in conference, the Bulldogs are the No. 2 seed from the Western AA. They will open the Class AA State tournament at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, at MetraPark First Interstate Arena.
Their opponent remains to be seen.
If Billings Senior beats Bozeman Thursday in Billings, the Bulldogs will take on the Broncs in the first round. If Bozeman wins, the Bulldogs will take on the winner of the Great Falls Russell-Billings Skyview game.
That game will be played Thursday in Great Falls.
Johnston signing with Dickinson
Butte High golfer Keeley Johnston will take her talents to Dickinson State.
The Bulldog senior will sign to play golf for the Blue Hawks at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at Butte High’s Richardson Gym.
The signing will come after Johnston’s outstanding senior season for the Bulldogs. She placed 19th at the Class AA State tournament at the Butte Country Club in October, missing out on All-State recognition by just three shots.
A week earlier, Johnston tied for 10th place at the Western AA Divisional tournament in Kalispell.
Early in the season, Johnston hit a hole-in-one the 115-yard hole No. 8 at The Ranch Colf Club in Missoula. That shot helped her tie for third place at the Missoula Invitational.
Keeley Johnston poses for a photo after hitting a hole-in-one at the Missoula Invitational in August. -
Irish blowout Big Horns, win state title
BILLINGS — The 14U Butte Irish hockey team entered the State Tournament at the Centennial Ice Arena as the No. 5.
The team returned home as the undisputed state champion.
Butte’s boys and girls beat the Helena Big Horns 7-1 Sunday for a convincing victory during the championship game. The Irish came out focused and relentless, controlling the pace from the opening puck drop as they made a statement with the lopsided win.
The victory avenged a tournament-opening loss to the Big Horns. In that Thursday game, the Irish fought back from a 5-2 deficit and fell in an 8-7 heartbreaker.
Despite the loss, though, the Irish showed that they would not go down without a fight.
In a 7 a.m. Friday game against top-seeded Miles City, the Irish rolled to an impressive 6-2 victory. In that win, the Irish held league points leader Christian Hogan to one goal, and the confidence continued to build for the Butte boys and girls.
Butte dominated Billings for a 7-0 victory on Saturday morning, showcasing balanced scoring, disciplined defense and stellar goaltending.
Butte finished No. 2 in its pool, pitting the Irish against the Missoula Bruins, who entered as the sixth-ranked team but emerged as the No. 1 team from its pool, in the semifinals.
In that battle, Butte wasted little time. The Irish delivered on of their most complete performances of the tournament, pitching a 4-0 shutout and punching the ticket to the title game.
Butte Irish team members are Brayton “Bea” Burleson, Maverick “WWE” White, Calvin “John John” Johnson, Ryan Byrne, Carly “Roxy” Ryan, Gaige Davis, Kaden Malkovich, Vera Peterson, Jerdon Harned, Lane “Linda” Batterman, Nick D’Amico, Kelton “Hot Rod” Dennehy, Ryan “Rhino” Ferriter, Kevin “Big Kev” Nielsen, Dawson Lambrecht, Kynsie Evans, Robert Wheeler, Danny Richards and Tyler Christensen.
Jeff Dennehy and Zach Woods coach the Irish. Corbin Roberts is the team manager, and Rory Burleson is the equipment manager.
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KC spring league eyes March 9 start
The Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s spring basketball league will begin on Monday, March 9.
The four-man league will run for 10 weeks an conclude with a double-elimination tournament. Games will be played Monday through Thursday nights at the Felix Madrazo Gym.
Cost is $125 per team, and teams can sign up at the KC or by contacting Dan Boyle at (406) 491-2529.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 